senator barack obama received fewer votes than senator john mccain on election day. but still won the state due to tally from early voting. this year, president obama could receive the same edge from early voting. and the iowa secretary of state's office says that democrats have a 5 to 1 advantage over republicans in the number of absentee ballots requested. now, though the state's republican party promises to close that advantage by election day, the candidates seem to have embraced early voting. both camps approximate put out ads that look and feel like closing arguments. here's president obama's. >> it's time for a new economic patriotism rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong, thriving middle class. read my plan. compare it to governor romney's and decide for yourself. >> and with a very different pitch, governor mitt romney. >> president obama and i both care about poor and middle class families. the difference is, my policies will make things better for them. we shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. we should measure comp